More light shed on new Preds ownership

The Nashville Post has a nice profile piece up on David Freeman, the leader of the local group currently in the process of buying the Nashville Predators. A few juicy tidbits of information:

He's the co-author of "The Medical Waste Handbook."

He made his fortune after selling his medical waste hauling business.

While not a big hockey fan yet, he is familiar with the "Miracle On Ice", so that's a start.

All in all, it's an interesting portrait of a guy who so far comes off as soft-spoken and genuinely interested in building the Predators into a Nashville institution.

In related news, Freeman appeared on a local sports show in Nashville Tuesday night and supposedly said that while the local investors can buy out "Boots" Del Biaggio if he gets the opportunity to become a majority owner elsewhere in the NHL, the terms of their agreement do not allow Del Biaggio to buy out the local members. I can't find any video of that interview, but if that assertion is true, that should be one more nail in the "only a couple years until Boots moves them to KC" coffin.

Celebrating a milestone month

I've been remiss in providing regular updates on my quest to turn this whole sports-blogging hobby into at least something of a significant side income, if not a career, but good news has a way of prompting action. That, and I've been heads-down busy working on a few different fronts to push things forward...

Social Media, Internet Marketing, and Real, Paying Customers - it really works!

Applying the basic tenets of internet marketing (SEO best practices and social media network building) have helped me grow the readership and engagement over at On The Forecheck tremendously in recent years, but lately I've been wondering if those same techniques could be applied to small- or medium-sized local businesses, to help them drive real, tangible business results. I'm talking about not just drawing idle hockey fans looking to a blog so they can muse over line combinations, but helping businesses connect with potential customers in ways that otherwise wouldn't occur. Recently, I was able to help make just such a thing happen, and it shows just how great the opportunities are for small, local businesses which may not have the resources or skills available to extend their brand effectively on the internet.

New directions for OTF

While my writings about the Nashville Predators are being posted over at OnTheForecheck.com, rather than this old site, I thought it might be worth touching base here every now and again to touch on "meta" issues, related to blogging in general. In particular, these days I'm very much interested in how I can turn this time-consuming hobby into a bit of a revenue generator. Since I receive a small stipend from SB Nation to run OTF, I declared that income on my taxes last year, and realized that I should also be recording my expenses (for example, parking fees downtown when I go to cover a practice or press conference, mileage, etc.). It was a bit of a reality slap to see exactly how much I was spending on this endeavor, and with 3 kids heading off to college in 9-10 years, there's a bit of a financial imperative to turn the tables there. So here's a few ideas I'm considering/pursuing: A website devoted to hockey gear and accessories, HockeyGearHQ.com . The idea...

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